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Monday, July 31, 2006

Supermassive Black Hole

I always hesitate to complain*. Ok, that's a lie. I hesitate to complain in this type of forum where I know people have bigger and worse problems than I do. In fact, to some, I have no problems at all and should shut the hell up. But whatever, this is my blog, and I'll complain about anything I want.

So semi-breaking my previous "Don't mention work" rule, I have to say that work sort of sucks right now. Things are shifting around to accomodate different things and to alleviate certain problems which has resulted in my job changing quite a bit. Now, I know I should be grateful to even have a job, and I am. But it's not the job I want and I'm afraid it's going to cause me to hate waking up in the morning for more than just the fact that pre-7am is un-Godly. Even back when I would come to work 3 days a week on less than five hours of sleep I never hated it here. But now? I'm about to cry...and Cindy? Keep this to yourself!!! There's a fine line between being given more/different responsibilities and being asked to do something that you weren't hired to do. And not even that it's not what I was hired to because I definitely understand having to make changes for the good of the company, but this is Day 1 of my new shit and I am miserable.

My immediate problem with this is that the mood work is putting me in makes me cuss...A LOT. I think I may have whispered "motherfucker" to someone on the phone by accident. But if you're calling on the GD phone then learn to speak clearly so I can understand who you need to speak to. It really can't be held against me if I cuss as a result of dealing with morons. People around here should feel lucky I haven't started throwing stuff.







*Not to friends/family. Petty complains to friends and family are expected and allowed. "Woe is me, my hair is frizzy" is fine to them.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Bliss

One of the reasons I've always liked math is that the answer is always going to be the same and unless you're some freak genius, the method of obtaining the answer is always going to be available. There was never that ambiguity shit that english had: "Is so-and-so really talking about a goat here or is it symbolic of his dead mother?" I remember to this day when I told my 11th grade honors english teacher that The Sun Also Rises had no symbolism. I flat out refused to say that the hat the stupid woman wore meant anything. I'm pretty sure I took a year or two off the woman's life with my statement.

For these same reasons are why I detested chemistry yet loved biology. That goat in the poem? It's just a goat. If it's hot outside, it's still a goat. Add some water to it? Just a goat. It's always going to be...a goat. But in chemistry you have, for example*, hydrogen plus oxygen which, as we all know, joins together to make a water molecule. BUT WAIT, say there's some weird acid involved, it won't form water. Too hot or cold? No water for you! I loathed chemistry because there were way too many variables to be aware of.

Seeing as how it's almost 3am and my poor body hasn't seen this hour in some time, I can't even remember why I started writing about math and biology. I know I had a point I wanted to say and originally was going to write something really cryptic just because I just needed to say it somewhere, but ended up writing about math and science...or did I?




*Do not correct me. The day I dropped organic chemistry, second semester is a shining moment in my academic memory. Getting out of that class and promptly forgetting everything I had ever learned in chemistry was a glorious decision.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Confessions Of A Big Brother

Today is my brother's 32nd birthday! Happy Birthday, Jesse!

A lot of people either don't know, or forget that I have a brother because he's six years older and lives in Richmond. Speaking of Richmond, go buy things at his store!

One of my favorite things about my brother is his entrepreneurial mind and inventive personality. Sometimes I get into a conversation with him and I just laugh because his mind works in such a grand sense of him seeing in the future and knowing ways to make money. I love it!

He is also very talented at music and if I knew the proper terminology, I would tell you what he does. It's techno and it's awesome. It's cool to watch him spin records because he does some crazy things with the records, but is also able to tell you WHAT he is doing which is something I've found a lot of people can't do.

Ali and I are headed down to Richmond soon to take him and Jobeth out to Sticky Rice for sushi and (omg) tots. We're ALL very excited about this. Mmmmmmmmm!!! Then it's back to NOVA to hang out with Serena and Steven.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Popular

Blogging reminds me more and more of high school everyday. If I had been an English major, or maybe even someone who didn’t vow to never return to the English building after taking her required courses in college, I would name this something like an extended metaphor or something. But I don’t want to sound pretentious (or wrong), so I won’t.

The thing I hated most about high school was the monotony and having to go everyday. I don’t hate the everydayness of blogging, but there is definitely a “build it and they will come” mentality. Whether or not you write for yourself, your blog is online and therefore there for people to come to. If you didn’t want people to read it then you’d write in a diary. I love getting comments on things I’ve written, I’m not going to lie and say I don’t. Each and every e-mail notification of a new comment helps the day at work pass faster. Sometimes, though, I don’t have much to say on here, but still feel like I need to blog for the day. It’s not often I feel “obligated” because I usually have more than enough to say, but every so often I have a dry spell and get worried no one will come back.

Much like the popular kids in high school, there are blogs that are more popular than others. But what makes them popular? Is it their associations and networking that make them so popular like the cheerleaders and star sportsmen in school? The thing about popularity is that oftentimes a person (or blog?) is popular just because a lot of people know them and not necessarily that a lot of people like them. Is the senior cheerleader whom everyone knows actually a well-liked person or is she a total skank and just more visible and out there.



Looking back, I would consider myself to have been popular in high school because I knew a lot of people and was well liked. Like my blog, though, I wouldn’t expect anyone to have picked me out of a crowd* as the Marissa Cooper (pre-drinking/drugs/Volchek) because I’m not as blatantly out there as some people. I do what I do because it’s what I like. I, too, could have been a cheerleader in high school or whatever group is popular, but I did the stuff I wanted to do.

So what is it about the people who are “popular” that keeps people coming back? Now, don’t get your knickers in a bunch because while I could name names, I most certainly am not going to, but know that there are blogs all over the world that perplex me with their popularity. Are they funny? Yeah, sometimes. Do they bring up new ideas? Eh, on occasion. Are they fresh and original and exciting? Not always. Most definitely not always. It’s these same boring blogs, though that are celebrated and loved and I don’t understand why. I’m not looking for false popularity on SVR, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m excited anyone comes back for more and am always grateful for a comment left. I just want to understand blog popularity, especially when seemingly undeserving.



*Except in music stuff. Best Musician superlative, thankyouverymuch! Runner-up for Best Eyes and Hair, but we’re not keeping track, right?

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Memories

I love how certain smells, sights, or sounds can trigger the memory. The other day I walked out to my car and the way the wind felt I was all of a sudden on the beach, relaxing in the sun. That memory escape was extremely brief, maybe the time of a blink of the eye, because very quickly I was back in the reality of my 30 minute lunch break and NOVA humidity. Yesterday it was cake that took me back and, unfortunately for her, it reminded me of a college roommate.

I was such a great roommate that year. I was hardly ever there and when I was, I was either asleep on the top bunk*, getting ready to go out, or on my computer**. I didn't go home once that year besides mandatory breaks, but still didn't always sleep in my awesome top bunk. Get your minds out of the gutters though, I had two awesome friends who let me crash at their apartments all the time.

Anyway, the reason cake reminded me of that particular roommate and, if it isn't obvious, we were placed together, it wasn't a match made in heaven. MWC effed up the housing process and I, as a senior, was left without a room until just a month or so before I was to move in. But to make a long, boring story short, I pulled some strings and got a room. My roommate was very nice and a fellow Bio major who was taking Music Theory for her math credit so we had that in common***. What we did not have in common was her love for D'Angelo, although my mom asking if the "guy with a lot of muscles" in the picture frame was her boyfriend, made up for her lack of good music taste and also her love of cake. Her family lived very close so quite often her mom would drop off a homemade cake. My roommate always offered me some, which was nice, but I declined. If I never ate the cake then I could be certain that the crumbs dropped on my things were NOT from me. One time I came home and a large chunk (not crumb, chunk) was on some papers from class. I was slightly disgusted and probably turned around and left. I did that a lot. Came home, got what I needed, and left.

I was grateful to have a dorm room that year and I guess the roommate situation could have been a lot worse, but whenever I see homemade cake or KFC (another thing often dropped off), I can't help but be reminded of her.

I have more stories from that year, but I won't bore you with them now.


XO,
SVR


*Our room sucked. It was so small we HAD to bunk our beds and then she told me she couldn't take the top because she was scared of heights. Bullshit! I was so mad. A 21 year old should not sleep on a bunk bed. I never felt bad when things fell on her from up above.
**I know, big surprise, right?
***No, I didn't take music theory for my math credit, I was a music major. I took calculus II, bitches. I would have taken more of my beloved math but squeezing Bio and Music into four years left no room for fun classes.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Lost City Of Refuge

I'm so sick of seeing listings for low-income housing. And I don't care if I'm being stereotypical here, but low-income housing often makes a person think 'shit-hole'. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. Like, with examples and address and phone numbers and maybe even an application to rent. And another thing, do they really need to rub it in that seniors have some really nice places to live that don't cost arms and legs in rent?

And another thing, is there a money tree around I don't know about? Yesterday I 'crunched some numbers' to try to figure out some possible living situations. I started with my "real" job and then added in what I can make at Barnes and Noble. Then I subtracted my expenses (car payment, dad loan payment, student loan payment, GASOLINEKILLME, etc.) and got to a rough estimate of what I would have leftover each month. But wait a second, where is that money now? Ever since I had to pay taxes back in April I've been off.

ANYWAY, my point is, how do people afford to live in NOVA? Because, I know I don't make some huge amount of money, but I have known people who worked retail full-time and still lived up there. Are they just in crazy debt or something? Do people not have car payments anymore? I do not understand. When I first moved back from the magical land of cheap rent that is Richmond, I had an interview up in Chantilly at a contractor type place. I was really excited at the thought of making, get this, $12 and hour. Like, I thought I'd be ROLLING in the dough with that. (Remember, in Richmond I worked at an athletic center and Barnes and Noble...I was in school part of it, too.) But now that I make more than that (thank goodness), I can't imagine how a person could live in that area making $12/hour. And that's before taxes.

Someone explain this to me. And also tell me somewhere cheap to live in NOVA near GMU;)

Monday, July 24, 2006

New Way Home

If you know me at all, you know I get into my TV shows. I don't think anything is wrong with this seeing as how there are people who still dress up for Star Wars premieres and people who go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show to act along with it. Although, both of those activities are things I have never experienced myself as I have never seen either movie so I most certainly would not be caught dead at one of those events. If I sound defensive, it's because I am. People tend to act like TV is the devil and that the shows on it are wastes of time. I, obviously, disagree and fail to see how someone can deem movies worthy yet scoff at TV. But defending TV is not my point today. Today I want to create a perfect world using my favorite TV shows:

Friends: Obviously Central Perk and Monica's apartment. Having a place to hang out that serves COFFEE is ideal.

Dawson's Creek: I loved how the town was on the water. I love piers and docks and loved the episodes when they had the "drive-in movies" that were on the water.

The O.C.- I want a pool house. And the Bait Shop is pretty cool, too. The Walkmen? Death Cab For Cutie? Yes, please!

Gilmore Girls- Sheesh, What DON'T I want?! a diner that's not greasy and nasty and full of old men and teens who can't get in anywhere else, Black, White & Read movie theatre- couches and bring your own food, loves it!, a town square, COLD

Hmm, while I can think of other shows I love (Alias, Sex and the City, Lost, Greys Anatomy, etc.) I can't think of too many other ones with THINGS I want from them. Dr. McDreamy does not count. It's like, if you HAD to pick a fictional town to live in, which one would it be? Mine would totally be Stars Hollow, CT. I'm practically there already.


Beverly Hills

90210 on DVD!!!!


COME TO MAMA!!!!!!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Sleeping Is The Only Love

Just as a warning: I am going to be a bitch this week. I took 3 Barnes and Noble closing shifts this week which will be in addition to my regularly scheduled "real" job of 8-430pm. Not that I didn't used to work that all the time or that people don't do it now, but I am like a child when it comes to sleep. I need it. And when I don't get it, I'm a biatch. The bitchiness, unfortunately, usually comes out around family and online where I complain a lot. I hold it together a bit more for coworkers and friends...don't want to scare anyone:)

So, on that note and warning, I'm going to sleep. 6:30am tends to comes about 2 hours too early.


XO,
SVR

Weather Forecasts And Storm Warnings

Civil War Cotillion. What do you think of when you hear that? Because I thought it was going to be a bunch of 15 year olds coming out to society while either wearing corsets or with civil war reenactors as the entertainment. Let me back up though...

As I am always looking for something free to do, I jumped at the chance to use Ali's comp ticket for this thing she and Allie were playing music for. Turns out it was the Civil War Cotillion, but I guess it was a fundraiser type of thing for a new theatre group. Tickets were $50 though and as a comp ticket holder I got to enjoy the open bar from 6-7 and the catered food. And the rain. Lots and lots of rain from about 6:45pm on. For awhile everyone escaped up under the ampitheatre and the Al(l)i(e)s along with 2 others played waltzes and polkas for the dancing.

Oh yes, the dancing! Serena and I did partake in one of them, but the dance went on and on and on and wasn't on the beat or with the phrases so it was driving me crazy. Also, I was kind of loud with my laughing and commentary so that was the only dance I joined in for. It was fun to watch though, especially the people in the Civil War outfits which were GORGEOUS.

After about an hour of watching the dancing we noticed that the people who had escaped under the far tent were eating! So at a break in the rain we ran to that tent to get some food for ourselves and the Al(l)i(e)s. I fed Ali a crabcake while she played. She's THAT good at the violin, didn't even miss a beat!

I was exhausted though, having worked 9-5 at Barnes and Noble, so by 10pm when the thing was STILL going on, I thought I was going to have to lay on the ground and sleep. We were wet and thirsty and tired so when the musicians were finally released, we jetted out of there.

The ride home was funny, too. Allie gave the 18 year old cello player a ride home and we teased him about Magic the Gathering (he doesn't play anymore) and his girlfriend (third).

I'll have pictures Monday...

Friday, July 21, 2006

The First Time You're Unfaithful

Seeing as how my big paycheck is late and I got a measly $15 from Barnes and Noble this week, I decided to save money this morning and get my coffee at Sheetz instead of Starbucks. Plus, my boss told me how the one near us now has the full coffee bar with espresso drinks so I definitely wanted to check those out.

BIG MISTAKE!

The place was a zoo! Had I not already parked and walked in I would have headed on to the Starbucks drive-thru. but I was there so I figured to just go for it. I was a little confused by the coffee ordering, and for fear that my latte would go on the end of what I could see was a mile-long To-Do list, I decided to get regular coffee. Thank goodness Sheetz has good drip-mmmm!

So I get my gigantic coffee (3/4 coffee + 1/4 almond "cappucino") and gigantic water and turn around to get in line. This is when I wanted to just set my beverages down and run for I not only saw a line longer than one at Carl's on a Friday night, but at least half a dozen eyes looking me up and down. Have construction workers never seen a skirt before?

What is it about a long line that turns people stupid. The cashier repeatedly said, "There are two other lines!" yet people would not move and just stayed in the never ending line. I, being the ravishing and intelligent creature I am, quickly moved to the shortest line to pay for my caffeine and get the hell out of there!

And you know what? My efforts to save money didn't even work once I got to work LATE and missed, in hourly pay, what I would have spent in the difference between Sheetz coffee and Starbucks coffee.

Go figure!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Different Names For The Same Thing

I'm a bit off today. Things just aren't running along like they usually do on a Thursday. In the forefront of my mind is my presentation I have to give tonight*. I don't think I am very good at giving presentations. Part of the reason is because, when I'm up there, I know noone wants to be listening to a presentation so then I want to make it short and sweet, but sometimes there are time requirements. And for a girl who can speak mighty quickly, that's a problem.

For my senior seminars (I gave two because I double majored), I had to give one 20 minute speech for music and one 35 minutes speech for biology. The biology one was first, and while I was excited for the subject (common injuries in tennis), I was not excited for the time requirement. After unsuccessfully trying to memorize our warm-up 15 minute speech, I decided to work really hard on the powerpoint and then wing it. So, I did. I didn't stay up all night before doing run-throughs like a lot of my classmates did. I showed up that day, no nerves whatsoever (well, after I asked how to correctly pronounce gastrocnemius because I had forgotten to previously) and just did it. I did okay, too. I remember telling my friend that when I'm giving a speech it's like I can't control my hand gestures, it's just too much in my already overwhelmed mind. So when I was explaining how lateral epicondilitis happens, I could feel my arms go into a backhand motion. I caught my friends eye and she smiled, which caused me to smile and the whole moment was incredibly hilarious but, unfortunately, I had to keep it together for like, 20 more minutes.

My music speech was cake in comparison. 20 minutes? PUHLEASE! I did mine on Shostakovich and From Jewish Folk Poetry, talking about what makes Jewish music sound Jewish and how he used those sounds in his pieces. I got bonus points for saying "Shostakovich" correctly so many times within a 20-minute span, ha! The funny part of that speech came when I had my required performance part of the speech. I decided to show off and play an example of Jewish music on my clarinet and part of From Jewish Folk Poetry on the flute. What I wasn't expecting was Dr. Long, the greatest music theorist in the world, pointing out to me later that I had, in fact, NOT played a B in my excerpt as I had stated. See, I explained a scale and how raising the Bb to a B made it sound "Jewish", but couldn't find an excerpt from anything to show this. I never expected anyone with crazy perfect pitch to prove me wrong!




In the picture, that's Shosty on the left and David Oistrakh, the violinist, on the right. A-dorable!

Todays presentation is a group effort and on education. Every group that has gone already has gone way over their time, so I am going to do what I can to be short and sweet. I really hope my group members don't show me up and come in with their parts memorized because I plan on winging it.

I seriously digressed from saying how my day is off to talking about college speeches. I hope that by the time I get home tonight, at 9 or so, that everything is back to normal.


XO,
SVR


*OK, that's a lie, but what are you going to do?

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

If It Makes You Happy

The only bad thing about The Hills is that I get sucked into Cheyenne right after it. I don't WANT to like this show, but I so do. I'm not even going to lie.

Oh, wait...they just used an Ashley Parker Angel song so I, of course, LOVE IT.

Sorry for all of the blogs tonight, but I'm supposed to be cramming for a presentation I have tomorrow so, of course, I am doing anything BUT cram.

So when Cheyenne and Sheryl Crow sing that duet? I don't even like Sheryl Crow* but that was good and I loved how Cheyenne took it over, ha!

OK, now the Jessica Simpson video for "A Public Affair" which is a hott song after what might be the crappiest, cheesified beginning ever.

That's all. I'm going to sleep because I have a feeling the power will be going out soon with all of this lightning hitting so close!





*Anymore. I liked her at first.

Satan Said Dance

No So You Think You Can Dance? update tonight as my TV guide mistakenly told me that Bones was on FOX at 8pm. So, instead of watching totally hott contemporary and hip hop routines, I was watching a rerun of America's Next Top Model. I was quite angry when I changed the channel at 9pm to see "Panty Liner"* Heidi finishing her solo routine and quickly realized it had already been on for an hour.

So, no recap since I only saw half of the show, but I will say that my favorite dances are turning out to be the contemporary and hip hop routines. BUT the duos and NOT the solos. The solos almost always bore me.

Now it's The Hills, the hottest (cable) show of The Summer! I'm sure Lala will have a better report than I could ever do.

*Named by Lynn

Return To Sender

Now, I am not the best when it comes to keeping in contact with people so the following could probably all be filed under "Hypocritical." There are some instances, however, when I get so incredibly irritated with people for not keeping in contact with me.

Case 1: I emailed a friend and said Happy Birthday and have yet to receive an acknowledgement of the email. And that's all I want. Just a "thanks" so I know the person got it. And really, how hard is it to click on "reply," type six letters and then tab over to send and hit return? It takes less effort than it would have to READ the flipping email. I just don't understand. I can see both sides to this: Yes, my wishing the person a happy birthday is something I don't wish for gratitude from, but if it were me, I would have been thankful for the well wishes and wanted the sender to know that.

Case 2: I have some good friends from college/after college who are back in the area. We fell out of touch the past few years, most likely due to different interests and the addition of quite a few states between us. But now they are within an hour of me and I have tried to get back in touch with them to no avail. This I do not understand, unless of course, there is another reason and they, for some reason, wish not to talk to me. But who the hell wouldn't want to talk to me? This is the same person who said I am never in a bad mood.*

Case 3: I certainly don't expect anyone to comment on any blogs I write. I, of course, LOVE to get them and those little comment emails make my day. What I do expect is for PEOPLE I KNOW who have blogs that I visit, to return the 'favor'. Some people, and I'm not naming names, should get off their high horse and that's all I'm going to say.


Am I being unreasonable? I know Case 3 is a bit much and is really just a little pet peeve of mine. But what about the other two? Am I right to be a little annoyed by those??


*Shhhh, Ali!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Company Calls


I recently had a new task added to my job responsibilities. For most people, this would have been something that resulted in happy, proud feelings, knowing that you are being trusted with more at work and will have something else to add to the ol' resume. For me, though, it only caused anxiety and I am not exaggerating at all.

With the recent departure of our sales representative, I get to* now make her follow-up calls about current and potential jobs. Luckily, this does not include "selling" the company or required sales quotes that must be met. (If so, I would have quit that day. I don't do that shit AND I would be so bad at it that they would fire me anyway.) It literally is just me calling and asking for the status on jobs. To a normal human being, this would be cake. To a telephonophobic** person, this is a nightmare.

I received word of my new "To Do" two weeks ago and then last week I was taught what to say when I call. I even avoided making the phone calls in my "lesson" because I was adamant in my learning preference style. I said that I learned best by example and not by doing. It worked and I have yet to make a sales phone call.

But now, the time has come where I need to follow up on things. I've spent the last week organizing everything and while, yes, my files are immaculate and my spreadsheets are impressive, at some point I need to actually pick up the phone and dial. I can't make myself do it, though! I don't know how someone could be so insane as to think I could be good at this. And don't give me that bullshit about learning new things and being a team player and doing the responsibilities given to me. Making these phone calls is like if your boss came up to you and said, "Will you pop the zits on my back?" Did you just recoil at the thought? That's how I feel about making these calls.



*It was a toss-up between "get to" and "am being forced to against my will."
**My fear is NOT irrational! Ok, it's not a fear but a intense dislike. I don't have that actual phobia but the name is fun to say.

Pressed In A Book

Go read this while I think of something else to write.

Monday, July 17, 2006

American English

I just watched the video from CNN of Bush and Blair talking where Bush drops the S bomb. I don't care what the hell he said, I'm just happy I got 30 seconds of Tony Blair into my day.

I'm seriously swooning.


Why You'd Want To Live Here

A friend of mine, (she knows who she is), recently just up and moved a state away to a city she doesn't know. I think this is AWESOME and I'm living vicariously through her. Don't go telling me that I could do the same, ok? Sure I want to live in Connecticut more than a normal 26 year old should, but I can't just up and move somewhere (right now.) One, I'm in school and the only thing worse than taking a class is having to take it again because the credits don't transfer. When I started undergrad at MWC, I knew that even if I hated it, I wouldn't transfer because losing credits would rip a tiny part of my soul out.

While I realize it's a little weird, and perhaps hypocritical, since I am in school for education, I hate school. Don't get me wrong, though, because I love to learn new things and it's such a great arena for doing better than others* but I can't stand the structure and moments of monotony. Every August when my friends would start to anticipate the start of school and change from "Summer's great!" to "I'm kinda bored, when does school start?", I would hold onto my own mantra of "Anything is better than school." I never once looked forward to Back to School, and except for Seventeen magazine's August issue filled with fall fashion styles, I would not get excited for that time of year. Even now, as an adult with no children, I get irritated when the Back to School displays go up in mid July. Let the kids enjoy their summer! Don't remind them of college vs. wide-ruled paper and their need for the 64 box of crayons. Don't remind college kids that their summers of sleeping in are almost over and soon they'll be writing papers the night before they're due while simultaneously getting their alcohol tolerances back up. And really don't get me started on the "Summer Reading" display at Barnes and Noble** along with our notebook of summer reading lists from the area schools. It makes me sick, it really does. Only AP classes should have summer reading and I can assure you that not everyone buying off of that display table is in an AP class. If they were, I would hope they would be smart enough to find a book by Hemingway or Faulkner on their own. Going up to the Info desk and asking where to find "Crime and Punishment? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Hello, see that huge section titled 'Fiction'? Try there and leave me alone, I'm not here to hold your hand while you locate the classics.

Wow, I seriously digressed. Basically, there are two, no three things that keep me where I am:
1) School (see above)
2) My family (I never should have gotten tight with my sister;)
3) Money (lack of)

I wonder, had Ali (the sister) stayed in the Richmond area, if I would eventually have moved there to the mecca of rent prices where a 1 bedroom can be found for $500. I don't often let myself daydream about having my own space for what is, in comparison, pocket change to NOVA prices. I'm in serious limbo right now. In a state of wanting change but not being allowed it due to outside things. Soon soon soon, though. Just have to wait.

XO,
SVR



*Competitive! Who, me???
**I work there part-time, remember?

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Hop Hop Quotables

In addition to my dream of one day stepping on stage and conducting a piece after the maestro falls ill, I've always wanted to step up to the turntables and spin an amazing set that causes the true geniuses of that music field to declare me a remarkable natural.

I used to practice when working at my brother's store down in Richmond and when I had no customers, I would turn down the in-store music and try to mix my own records. I found out, though, I'm not that good. I like it A LOT, but I think not being familiar with the records and being worried about who would see me caused me to not concentrate as hard as I probably needed to. I'm still confident that if the opportunity presented itself, I would step up and be awesome.

I thought I was going to have one of those moments today. Serena and I went to the DC Hip-Hop Theatre Festival at Benning Park expecting to find hip-hop dance lessons, graffiti workshops, and DJ demonstrations. I think we hit just the DJ demonstrations and I guess the dance lessons and graffiti workshops were either over or still to come. This was unfortunate since, seeing as how I'm addicted to So You Think You Can Dance?, I would consider myself a hip-hop afficionado*. Despite the disgusting heat of today, I kind of wanted to have the chance to show off my sweet moves. (I also wanted to flirt with the teachers, but alas, none were to be found.)

We were brought up on the little stage where they had 4 turntables set up and the instructors were talking about different scratching techniques. I thought we were going to get a chance to try it out, but unfortunately again, it didn't work out. We got a short lesson on the parts of the turntables and mixers (all of which I know, but that's ok, I'm a dork) and then they took their lunch break-BUST! No scratching and master spinning from DJ SVR today, kids. Next time.

Techno


*SOOOOOOO kidding. So so so so so kidding.

A Baltimore Love* Thing

*Love=Birthday for this post but I can't just change the song title.

So yesterday was a lot of fun! Serena and I took Steven to Baltimore for the day to celebrate his birthday and this is what we did:

-Took a detour to BWI to confuse him and make him think we were flying somewhere. We had told him to bring his passport. Nevermind the fact that I don't have one and Serena's expired, ha.

-Had lunch and A LOT of beer at Max's in Fells Point resulting in us being a little tipsy. Lunch was good: awesome fries and honey mustard and Steven got his daily bread requirement;)

-Went to Soundgarden and I.Did.Not.Buy.Anything!!!!! Whoa. But I was looking only for Mogwai and they had no Mogwai used so I didn't get anything.

-Walked along the pier and tried to find a boat to steal.

-Went to the Aquarium which had WAY TOO MANY KIDS IN IT but the animals were cool and I liked the Aussie movie which the funny narrator.

-Visited the Baltimore Barnes & Noble and had gelatto. YUM!

-Had $3 margaritas and tried to decided why people were dressed up as devils and angels.

-Steven played the recorder while I drove by Pier 6.

-Amazingly hit no traffic on the way home.

-Went to Olive Garden for awesome limoncello lemonades and lettuce that I had been craving. (Had other things, too.)

-Cake and presents and...ants at Steven's!


It was a fun day...Hope he had a good time, too. I have lots of pictures from the day but it would take hours to upload them with dial up so those will come later.


XO,
SVR

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Dancecraze

So You Think You Can Dance? is the hottest show of the summer (not on MTV*). I am totally into it and, unlike American Idol, there is a lot of talent on the show. And there are hotties like Dmitri as opposed to Taylor. (Sorry, Taylor, but you're not exactly dreamboat material.) And the fact that is blatantly clear, at least to me, is that there is A LOT of sexual tension between the dancers. Let's Recap:

Natalie and Musa to "Promiscuous"- So Musa got kicked off tonight but Natalie, "sex kitten"**, is still in. I think both Natalie and Musa have significant others back at home.

Ryan and Heidi to "Sex Bomb"- Heidi is either the one on the phone every night talking to her boyfriend, Wayne, back home or she's a total slut and she's more to one of them than just a dancer in a hott outfit. Actually, I bet if she's banging anyone it's one of the choreographers.

Ivan and Allison to "Why"- These two are not only doing it but they're all sweet and in love, too. Hottest dance of the night, whoa.

Ashlee and Dmitry to "Let Me"- I think Dmitry has boned every one of his partners so far. Girls can't say no to those abs.

Martha and Travis to "Witchcraft"- No sexual tension here. They're good dancers but better alone.

Donyelle and Benji to "You Can't Stop The Beat"- I don't see anything between these two, either. Benji's probably trying to get together with either Allison or Travis. Donyelle seems too mature and composed to bother with any of the other dancers.

I think the next two people to get kicked off will be Martha and Dmitry. Will it still be two people voted off at a time now that the voting switches from couples to individuals??

OK, that's all. I'll be out all day Friday celebrating Steven's birthday!



*Hello, The Hills!?
**Nigel's words, not mine.

Listen To What I've Got

I was wrong. My bad day was not getting better and lack of sleep plus hunger turned out to be my weakening kryptonite that resulted in overly bright green eyes that would lead a perceptive person to certain conclusions. I did not cry...but it was close. Just like how something small can be the catalyst for good things, sometimes, all it takes is one little bad thing to set things off the other way. Today is was ambiguity over who ordered the pizza and whether or not it was for everyone or not. I know, I know-weird, right? But it was 1pm and my graham cracker breakfast had let me down long ago and the $2 and change in my purse really didn't have my hopes too high for a satisfying lunch.

But I digress...

The point is, Steven gave me a list of things to think about to cheer up and he totally made me laugh not only because he was dead on but because of what a weird list it is. And now, taken straight from his email, the list of things to make me happy:

1. It's your Friday!
2. Tomorrow is a birthday celebration!
3. Puppies!
4. Muse!
5. Connecticut!
6. Yale!
7. Carnegie Hall!
8. OC!
9. Brad Pitt!
10. Friends trivia!
11. Gilmore Girls!
12. Scotland!


I think he only forgot math, Tony Blair and tomatoes and he would have encapsulated my being in that list. I was impressed.


XO,
SVR


Bad Day

I hate that song. Daniel Powter should be fined for writing such an irritating song.

That being said, it's the perfect title for today's post as it seems like everyone I've encountered today is in a bad mood or seriously on edge. I started off my day in a horrible mood full of expletives and curses for the world, especially for the laundry monster who is obviously stealing my clothes because I had not a thing to wear today. But the difference between my bad mood and those around me, is that mine does not affect my interactions with other people or my work. I just said this to my boss, in an email, and she wrote back, "I didn't know you had bad moods."

This is where the people who really know me, like my sister Ali, start laughing as they KNOW I had bad moods and definitely let everyone know. But generally, I leave my bad moods out of my interactions with people. It's a fine line between walking on eggshells for someone and getting your head bit off and I want nothing to do with that tightrope of awkwardness. Being quiet is fine. Take a step back, limit your run-ins with people and then, once you're in better spirits, come back out and join us. But, in the meantime, don't walk around like we all owe you something and should be washing and kissing your feet, making sure you're okay. And if I do need to interact with you, like is often the case in a WORK ENVIRONMENT, don't take your effing bad mood out on me! It's not my fault your panties (or boxers) are in a bunch.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Knights Of Cydonia

The new Muse CD is in my possession. I will now review it.


The first thing that struck me when I put the new album on, was how cohesive the whole thing is. Tracks one through three came and went without a break yet each song sounded different which is the second thing that I realized: the many different styles that come through with each song.

Take A Bow- The signature Muse sound of arpeggio-like accompaniment with angst-ridden, dramatic lyrics. This song sounds like what you would imagine a vocal exercise written by Muse to sound like with its deliberate chord and key changes. It also sounds like the beginning to the next Jesus Christ Superstar (which, for the record, is AWESOME so that is clearly meant to be a good thing.) And what charming lyrics: "You will burn in hell."

Starlight- This song reminds me a little of Keane (although Muse was first so would it be the other way around?) and gets me dancing right away. Well, dancing in the sense that I feel like I'm at their show and can't stop moving. The album name, "Black Holes And Revelations" makes its debut in this song and has the characteristic vocal style of the band that I love so much.

Supermassive Black Hole- The first sign of harder rock comes right away on this track and it immediately makes me think of a blend of Queens Of The Stone Age and Queen. Imagine the beginning of the latest "it" movie that is popular yet critically acclaimed and this song would be the perfect part of the soundtrack.

Map Of The Problematique- Beginning with an odd beat and then an even more odd keyboard (?) melody this song picks up the pace. Once the singing comes in, though, I am reminded of many other Muse songs because of, once again, the vocal style. The song sounds very rich though with the added vocal accompaniments, I like it. I can't imagine this being released as a single but would probably make an awesome concert selection with extra musicians playing as well.

Soldier's Poem- The first 'sound break' happens as this song begins as the volume and tempo goes down. His voice is so strong when high, which I love, but when it gets lower and is a bit...gravelly? edgy?*... it has a different, yet still beautiful effect. Part of this song sound like I'm in church with a choir.

Invincible- Another soft, slow start. It's the, "sit back and relax" portion of the evening. I wish I hadn't sucked so much in recognizing chords and notes when in music theory because I want to take a guess at the part of the chord he keeps hitting but I'm 99% sure I am wrong and would therefore end up sounding like an idiot. But he's either sliding into the correct pitches or hitting ones of dissonance before settling on the next note. It doesn't always happen so don't go listening for it or anything.

Assassin- Break over! Time to rock again as the tempo picks up and what is that? a drum set?? Just kidding but it does jump out at you. A lot of background instruments and voices again, especially in the chorus which is really good and catchy. Muse uses a lot of different instruments and techniques so they end up sounding much larger than just three people.

Exo-Politics- Even though the rich instrumentation is still there, the album as a whole doesn't sound as dark as their older stuff, espeically Origin of Symmetry, does. I like to think the band has found my blog, knows of my love for them, and is now happier which comes out in their music.

City Of Delusion- Whoa, acoustic guitar? A lot of interesting sounds, once again, going on in this song with the, say it with me now, "Muse vocal style" that we by now know and love. (YOU LOVE IT, RIGHT!?) There's a fun trumpet (?) part at the end, very Latin sounding. I'm in love. I hope that if Muse decides to tour with a full orchestra they call me for the clarinet part.

Hoodoo- More Latin/Spanish/Ay Carumba sounds going on! I am loving this! Vocals vocals vocals and then PIANO! BAM! This song alone is like a music style handbook.

Knights Of Cydonia- The longest song but I think there's a hidden track? Muse can never be described as being too simple or without enough musical layers. It makes it hard to pick out influences and characterstics because so much is going on. And in addition, there seem to be made up sounds and experiments with sythesizers and other "weird" instruments.


I went to Wikipedia after I wrote this to see what they had to say. It says how the band released some cryptic clues in set lists and songs and that a few fans figured it out and it led them to a locked up bicycle in the US with an autographed seat. I hate hearing about stuff like that because it makes me angry for the people who have time to sit around and find hidden clues. It's not rewarding the biggest or most sincere fans, it's rewarding the people with the most time on their hands. Ok, ok, maybe I'm bitter and jealous that I didn't figure out the cyptograms and you may be correct, but figuring that stuff out takes time. And while and email here or there** at work can be done, cracking codes to find a bike can not. Not that I really want to find some random bike or anything but if it got me on Muse's wikipedia page, then I would be all about it. Just like when people realized there were clues going on with the see-through letters on Alias. I just had to ignore that there was a puzzle to be solved. One day I'll get to see and meet Muse and they'll say to me, "Scarlet, you're such a great appreciator*** of our music!"


*Really, the word I want to use is "raw" but it's such a pet-peeve of mine to describe music as raw.
**HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!
***Fan is such a weird word.

Sober

I got agitated last night when thinking about the new Muse CD that comes out today. It was 8pm and I wanted it then, dammit! Waiting until today, after work, was not good enough. I felt like a heroin addict waiting for her next fix.

I also tried, unsuccessfully, to get tickets to a show I desperately wanted to go to. Ali and I both had to put it out of our minds as every show within 8 hours was sold out and yes, I would have driven to Atlanta for it.

Around this time, I was talking to Serena online and said how I'm glad I'm not a drinker or drug user because I would be a goner. When I have a bad day, I don't think, "I could really use a drink*", I usually think, "I need to order a CD" or "Mmmmm, an iced caramel macchiato would be SO good right now!" The other day my dad reminded me that I owe him my current payment for the bassoon loan and I said how my work check is delayed. He said something about, "not buying so many CDs then" and I flipped out. I haven't ordered or purchased a CD in months** and was upset because that's like an alcoholic passing the bar on the way home*** without stopping in.

So, even tough I really shouldn't, and ideally should wait at least until I get paid, I'm going to Target on my lunch break to buy this CD. That, along with the Starbucks I got this morning with a rediscovered gift card, is what will get me through this week. (But what will I do when I see the new Thom Yorke CD there, too?)


XO,
SVR


*OK, Sometimes I do but since I am so rarely in a situation when I can fulfill that wish, I don't often use that as my "fix".
**The new Snow Patrol didn't count since we were going to be seeing them. Plus, $9.99 new releases are ok. I HAVE successfully not ordered any CDs in months!
***I'm not trivializing alcoholism or drug use. Just trying to explain my "need".

Monday, July 10, 2006

Surprise!

Happy Birthday, Steven!



I hope you have a wonderful day!


As a side note, I was going to link to last year's birthday celebration but then realized I don't want to make it EASY to see pictures of me in gross July heat so, if you want, they're in Fotki somewhere;)

I also was going to make like, a Top 10 re: Steven but wasn't sure if he'd get embarassed or something. Let me know...

OK then, he said to go for it with the Top 10 and while I think up something else, I'll go ahead and post this one since he so kindly linked to the gross July 2005 pics:

Top 7.5 Ways To Celebrate 27 Years:

7.5. 27 Minutes Alone In A Room W...
7. 27 Limoncello Lemonades
6. 27 Shifts In A Row At Barnes And Noble
5. 27 Jalapeno Peppers
4. 27 Krispy Kreme Donuts
3. 27 Shots of Alcohol
2. 27 Kisses
1. 27 Spanks



XO,
SVR

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Undone (The Sweater Song)

Ali is my younger sister and the following took place on our way home from seeing The Devil Wears Prada which was SO good:

Scarlet: I was reading Marie Claire the other day and got so excited with the fall fashion layouts. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, BROWNS, I LOVE YOU!' I can't wait!

Ali
: I'm not really into sweaters anymore.

*Crickets*

Scarlet: Are you joking? What are you going to wear? I can't wait to wear scarves and sweaters and coats.

Ali: I don't know, I'm just not excited for them anymore. I...

Scarlet: What?

Ali: I kind of...like...

Scarlet: ARE YOU SAYING YOU LIKE SUMMER!? Are you cheating on our hatred for hot weather?!

Ali: Well, I don't hate it as much as I used to, I guess.

Scarlet: Hmmm

Ali: I'm sorry, I don't love it or anything.

Scarlet: ...It's ok I mean, it hasn't been as hot this summer yet and I do like wearing skirts and flip flops. But I don't love it or anything and I can't wait til fall.

Ali: Yeah...So you wanna go to the pool tomorrow?

Scarlet
: YES!

Bullet With Butterfly Wings

I'm up "early" to watch the Men's Wimbledon Final to which I will be hooked until the champion is named. The way it's going so far though, it's going to be a short match. I hope it's like the French Open and Rafael Nadal steps it up after the first set though. He's just making way too many unforced errors so far and against Roger Federer, that's a death wish. I love watching matches like these because as long as they both play well, I am happy with either winner.

The women's final yesterday was weird to watch because I don't like either Amelie Mauresmo or Justine Henin-Hardenne. I was okay with Mauresmo winning only because she played well. And it was kind of funny when she said for people to stop talking about her nerves now. I will admit I don't like Justine because her body freaks me out. It's like she went overboard with training-ew!

I think it's funny people keep doing google searches of "Nadal wedgie"...I'm not really sure what to say about that but you'd think the guy would alter his underwear choices if he's having that much trouble with them. I know I wouldn't want to have to alter my knickers with a gazillion people watching!

XO,
SVR

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Only In Dreams

Something sparked me to have some intense dreams last night. Intense in the nostalgic way. In my dream, I went to a craft show and saw an old friend. (Friend is an interesting word to use here because we were more than just acquaintances, but never to the level of hanging out one on one.) Somehow though, in my dream, we were like long-lost best friends or something and I decided to help her sell her beaded necklaces. And true to how this girl was, her necklaces sucked but everyone still thought they were works of art.

Then it started raining-whatever that means. Maybe it was for the appropriate entrance of another old friend and someone who definitely holds a special place in 'mah heart'. But it was like getting caught on enemy sides, though, being with the bead-selling girl who also happened to be his ex-girlfriend. Having to choose one over the other, I chose to explain things to him and I later found out I had chosen correctly as bead girl had gone AWOL and left ME to clean up HER crappy bead necklaces.

But I had turned my back for too long and he and his friends vanished so I went back to trying to find my sister which led me to a train in New Hampshire (go figure!). We got off sync though and I ended up in Delaware while she was stuck at a river party back in New Hampshire. I did eventually get to where she was and at that point I woke up to come out and watch the Wimbledon Ladies final.

It was a good final seeing as how I don't like either player and wanted them to just tie and not have a champion. It's over now and I'm content with the result since it was a match well played and not a case of someone choking and losing it. It makes such a difference for someone to WIN a title as opposed to someone losing it to their opponent.


XO,
SVR

Friday, July 07, 2006

We Laugh Indoors


simplelife
Originally uploaded by scarls17.
Isn't Tinkerbell just the cutest?


But really, what is freaky is that I have the same birthday as Paris Hilton and Vanessa (in the pic) has the same birthday as Nicole Ritchie. I mean, come on, that's weird, right?

Please ignore my eyebrows-they're a dead giveaway to my real haircolor;)

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Friend Of The Night

My mind has me confused. And I apologize in advance for having one of those "secrets" where I declare something I can't reveal, but I promise it's not for attention or empowerment. I think, honestly, I can't even wrap my thinking around this so sharing it would be near impossible. Every so often something reminds me of my conundrum and then the battle between black and white, hot and cold, sweet and spicey takes off and I've lost before I have even realized a battle is taking place. Imagine, if you will, two sides fighting for your vote and one is correct and one is, by default, incorrect*. But no matter how well you know both sides, you aren't sure which one is lying. At any time in the day, one side is easier or more enjoyable to believe but just a moment later everything is questionable. It's exhausting to an already tired brain. I've pretty much been up since 4am today and have had quite the stressful day mostly from work-related things going on combined with the ever-present, "OMG, I need to win the lottery!" problem.

I just know something's off when I'm driving home and a chord-change in a Mogwai song could be enough to make me cry. Ugh, that's so fucking emo it makes me sick! I've got to blame the lack of sleep. Lack of sleep puts me into such a tailspin, and it's unfortunate since my alternate answer to the lottery problem is working more at my part-time job. But it's hard to rationalize that being worth it when we could get a repeat of "Kill Me" Tuesdays.

I hope to get some moment of clarity and truth in regards to my "conundrum" before I turn into a Dashboard Confessional-loving, whiny little emo bitch.


*No, this is nothing political. Guiliani all the way for this girl!

Apologies To Insect Life

The plan was to wake up at 5 and get to work by 630am to not only make up hours from Monday but to finish the effing Newsletter that needs to go out with the checks this afternoon*. So when my alarm went off at 4am, like it always does to give me the feeling of getting more sleep, I reached over to reset it for 5:01am (don't ask). But then I heard a weird noise. Not the kind of noise that convinces you the boogeyman is in fact real and hiding in your closet or the kind of noise that comes with end of the world thunder and causes you to instinctively hope and prayer for a power outage and therefore no work. No, this was the sound of something foriegn** in my bedroom and I quickly deduced that it was in fact, a bug.

Now, being the entomological expert I once was, I would know to say insect if I was sure my new friend had six legs, but since I never really saw him, I can't say for sure. What I can say is that knowing there is a bug on your ceiling makes it VERY difficult to fall back asleep. By the time it was 5am and my alarm had gone off even though I never fell back asleep and I was by then emailing Steven because sleep was the last thing on my mind, I knew I needed to either get up and start my day or change locations to get some more sleep.

Now, had I not originally gotten up at 4am in a haze that turned to grossed out-ness*** and fear, I would have just gotten up at my predetermined time. I knew, though, that attempting my very long day on a measly four hours of sleep would not be the best idea so I decided to sleep until 5:45 (6:00) on the love seat/Lazyboy in the living room which got me to work at 7:10 which is still ungodly in my opinion.

I don't know what kind of bug was in my room and even though I love insects and find them fascinating, I never want one falling on my face.



That picture makes me throw up a little. And no, there are no bugs like that in my room-UGH! But just since it's the subject at hang, the following are bugs that make me want to barf:

-centipedes
-millipedes
-caterpillars



(No, cockroaches are NOT on my list. Sure, I don't want them to live with me but, they don't really gross me out like they do some people. Maybe it's from dissecting a live one once...)


*Got word that the checks are delayed and might not come til tomorrow, AWESOME!
**someTHING not someONE
***Uhh, new word.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Team Handed

It's one of those days. The ones where I can't think of anything to write about but really want to blog and then I get frustrated. SOOOOOOO, give me topics or questions or whatever. But be speedy, I only have high speed internet til 430pm!

Updated As I Get Them:

From Celine:

how 'bout some old favorites, like most recent book(s) read, last meal eaten, last cocktail drunk, etc.?

Right now I am reading Bitter Is The New Black. I like it, it's funny and reads easily and quickly.

The last meal I ate was lunch and it is barely worth mentioning. I had an egg salad sandwich on a hamburger bun and a peach. The peach was quite juicy and my coworker told me I would have to slurp while I ate it. I refuse to slurp while eating so I ended up making a mess. But man, that was a good peach!

My last cocktail is sort of hard to remember. Does champagne Monday night count? Andre's peach champagne-I seriously want a camel pack of this stuff!


From Serena:

Ok, do you think Steven will freak next weekend?

Only if he's afraid of strippers and juicy peaches.


XO,
SVR

P.S. How awesome that it's already Hump Day of the week!?

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Time Consumer

Soooooo, with the recent laptop crashing, I am having to reset up my iTunes. I did a little googling for how to transfer my song files from my external hard drive to my laptop, but I didn't have much luck. I found the thing about importing and exporting libraries but I ended up with my "version" of iTunes from when I only had about 2,000 songs on there. I now have about 8,000 song files so you can see why I am not wanting to have to add them all! I was already a little sad to lose all of those song ratings that had accumulated from the last year and a half as well as the many playlists I had including my many "Best Of..."s I was working on. I HATE to lose things like this.

I guess I just need to vent for a moment about this extremely time consuming task I have before me, but am also looking for any advice anyone might have.

XO,
SVR

P.S. As I was waiting for my blogger connection to come back, I got a bit discouraged when I clicked on the "Compilatons" folder and saw hundreds...Holy Crap.

Leave The Day Free

While I certainly can't remember what I've done each of my 26 4th of Julys, a few do jump out in my memory. All of the years we drove to Sterling (?) to sit on blankets with hundreds of other people to feel buggy and watch the fireworks. We only did that until my sister was born, I think. I don't mind though as I've never been a fan of those types of events where its a gazillion degrees and you just sit and bake on a field with tons of other sweaty, gross people while you wait for 30 minutes of fireworks and then trying to find your car and getting in traffic in the parking lot. Sorry, not for me! A lot of people out here go to Great Meadow for the 'works which is somethng I have never done for the reasons stated above.

Three years in a row we had a 4th of July party at my house. One year Edenpark played which was pretty crazy but also fun. The nice things about having a party at your own house are getting to escape into the AC, not having to use a PortaPotty, and having all of your own luxuries there just in case. It can be weird mixing so many different people but nothing too embarassing ever happened for which I'm grateful. We stopped having these parties when the cops started cracking down on illegal fireworks. Noone wants to visit their dad in jail on July 5th.

Last year I was at The O.C. with some family and friends. I had a good time but it can be weird to go somewhere you know so well and have gone almost every year of your life with new people. Ali and I have our traditions and our ways of doing things there. We go to the same places, we eat the same food, we have the same routines whenever we are there. By the time it was the fireworks, I think it was back to being just family there. Afterwards I decided I wanted ice cream so Ali and I got in her car to head down there only to get in the INSANE traffic from the people leaving the fireworks. We pretty much just took 30 minutes to get into the traffic, make a U-turn and then get back to our hotel.

I don't think I'm doing anything this year which, I think, is ok. I might change my mind later when Ali leaves for the party she's going to but as of now, I'm content to just catch some fireworks on TV or from my backyard where you can always catch some awesome illegals (not from anyone here...from neighbors.) Noone I know is having any get-togethers and I'm really not into the idea of paying to go see fireworks. Or being outside when it's a gazillion degrees.

OK, Back to tennis.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Still Fighting It

This tennis match I'm watching is awesome: Nadal vs. Labadze.

Nadal is seeded #2 and has been playing very well on the grass so far. Labadze is a qualifier who doesn't even have a clothing contract so is wearing a white shirt given to him by the Wimbledon officials. And they keep calling Labadze the "heavy-set guy" because well, fitness really isn't what has him out there in the round of 16. And I really like Rafael Nadal now. After how he played and acted when he beat Agassi, I am now a fan. It doesn't really take much for me to change my mind with players. Labadze reminds me a little of Goran Ivanisovic (!!).


This is one of those matches where I don't know who to cheer for. I want Labadze to do well because it's always fun for a qualifier to do well but I want Nadal to do well because I like him and Nadal/Federer in the final would be sick.

(I love tennis.)

Hello? Is This Thing On?

I have my laptop back. For those who didn't know, my harddrive crashed and FINALLY a service plan I had purchased was used (don't get me started on not having it for my now -dead iPod). But with a new harddrive comes a pretty empty computer. I got Firefox, AIM, and iTunes back the other day when I used the coffee shop's wireless and then Steven got my Office on Sat. Today I'm trying to get my 8,000 or so songs back on iTunes. I've never been good about backing up my computer but it was definitely a nice feeling to know that I had all of those songs on an external harddrive so I will NOT be spending countless hours uploading all of those CDs again. I've decided to put them on my laptop though and have them backed up on the external. Originally, I had been worried about junking up my laptop since my last computer took it's last breath as an overstuffed machine full of 8 years of crap. I also had been good about backing up my digital pictures onto CDs but even the thought of losing the last 100 or so I had not burned to disc was too much so I paid to have my data extracted. (It was a good decision, though, as I later realized I would also have lost all of my papers and school work-omg!)

So anyway, my day off today is being spent watching A LOT of tennis (GO, MURRAY!) and getting iTunes back to normal. I hope everyone else either has a lovely, long day off or a speedy, quick and easy day at work.

XO,
SVR